British perceptions of the new Baltic States, 1918-1930

University of York, 1997. 124 p.This study examines British perspectives on the national claims and character of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians during their accession to political autonomy and statehood (1905-19) and through the first decade of their independent Republics (1919-30). Published memoirs and unpublished correspondence of British diplomatic, military and civilian observers are here used to illustrate the evolution of British attitudes to these „new nations‟. Such sources reveal the personal and institutional preconceptions which governed the collection and transmission of intelligence,
illustrate the extent to which national profiles influenced the conduct of British policy in the region, and suggest ways in which experience in and of the Baltic States contributed to a wider British understanding of nationalism and „national questions‟, including Britain‟s own.Infernus Rusticorum: the Baltic peoples and their masters, 1180-1920
„A ramshackle and hermit republic‟: British perceptions of Lithuania, 1900-1930
„White Hottentots‟: British perceptions of Latvia and Estonia, 1900-1930